A workout app for runners, instant ad feedback, more

New in Chicago is just that: a listing of businesses getting off the ground in and around Chicago. Please send us your startup announcements. Email is best: [email protected]

Crain's contributor Robert Loerzel brings you news of fresh local startups every Tuesday on Crain's blog for Chicago entrepreneurs.

BonnBonn Baby: Mindy McKegney of Barrington started this company when she got tired of changing her baby's sheets in the middle of the night. “I wanted a bodysuit that would help keep her dry, especially while sleeping,” Ms. McKegney says. “I was looking for a way that could keep the wetness away from my baby's skin and stop the growth of smelly germs and bacteria on the fabric and keep the fabric fresher longer.” She researched and tested fabrics made by various companies, as well as different antimicrobial agents. “The fabric uses a patented moisture-control wicking system to pull the wetness away and an integrated thermal layer to keep baby warm in winter and cool in summer,” Ms. McKegney says. “The eco-friendly antimicrobial protection fights smelly germs, bacteria, mold, mildew and fungi from growing on BonnBonn Baby.” BonnBonn Baby sells sheets, changing pad covers, bodysuits and blankets via its website, which also offers the opportunity for stores to buy the products wholesale.

WalkJogRun: Chicago entrepreneur Adam Howitt has updated his fitness app for the iPhone, WalkJogRun, which uses GPS to map out running routes and keep track of the actual distance a user has gone. The company says its app is the most accurate available, precise within a hundredth of a mile for every mile run. The app, which costs $4.99, analyzes a runner's data across weeks, months and years to track progress. New features include an estimated time of arrival. Based on a runner's current progress, it displays the pace and predicts a finish time. Runners can let their friends and family follow their progress via Facebook.

Waffles: On Nov. 15, a second Waffles is scheduled to open at 3617 N. Broadway in Lakeview. This breakfast restaurant opened its first location, at 1400 S. Michigan Ave., last year, and Time Out Chicago named the South Loop location the best new breakfast spot in its 2012 Eat Out Awards. Owner Alex Hernandez and chef Pablo Harrison are offering an expanded menu at the new location, adding breakfast sandwiches, house-made pastries and waffle wraps.

AdYapper: This Chicago startup offers a new technology that lets consumers give instant feedback on Internet advertisements. When people see an ad for a participating company, they can click on the “Yap” symbol in the corner and say what they think: “Loved It,” “Meh” or “Hated It.” People have the option of publicly posting their comments in a Facebook-style social community. The brands receive detailed information on their ads — not just how many times people are clicking but what they think about the ads. “This is feedback that the brands have never gotten before,” says CEO Elliot Hirsch, who co-founded AdYapper with Kal Patel and Wojo Wietecha. AdYapper finished beta testing and officially launched last month, and it's currently working with “a number of large agencies and consumer-packaged-goods brands,” Mr. Hirsch says.

Foodjunky: Now in beta mode, this Chicago-based website helps groups of people, such as an office staff, to order restaurant deliveries. Foodjunky emails a restaurant's menu to everyone in the group, and then each person selects food. “We simply deliver an order to the restaurant and payment. The restaurant does the delivery,” founder Travis Johnson says. He says it's more efficient than hiring a caterer. “If you cater it, there's too much food and you waste it,” he says. Foodjunky is testing different pricing structures, but businesses ordering food will likely pay Foodjunky a fee equal to somewhere between 1 percent and 8 percent of the restaurant bill, Mr. Johnson says. “The only restaurants we will not offer are restaurants that have proven unreliable,” he adds. While foodjunky is in beta mode, it's limiting the number of businesses it serves and is focusing on the Loop. “We're looking for small investments so we can ramp it up,” Mr. Johnson says.

World of Beer: Based in Tampa, Fla., this chain of brewpubs is getting ready to open its second franchise in the Chicago area. There's already a World of Beer in Naperville, and a new location is expected to open this month at 1601 Sherman Ave., Evanston. “World of Beer will occupy the first floor of the beautiful five-story Fountain Square Building, constructed in 1948,” says general manager Mark Damas, who has more than 25 years of experience in the restaurant business. The bar will serve 50 beers on tap, rotating which beers are available. The beer list will include offerings from local breweries such as Goose Island, Two Brothers, Lakefront, Half Acre, Argus, Revolution, Finch's, 5 Rabbits, Bells, Milwaukee Brewing and Metropolitan. The kitchen's specialties will include appetizers and bratwurst.